


Moving Forward, Looking Back

by Poiby



Category: Hiccup Series - Cressida Cowell
Genre: Gen, Hiccup and Windwalker address Windwalkers past and what just happened, I'm an audiobook nerd so if I get some stuff wrong it might be because of only reading one book, In the sense that this should have been addressed more in the books so I'm going to, Is Hiccup ace/aro? Does this mean A LOT to me? Is this never brought up?, Missing Scene, Rated Teen for canon levels of slavery and violence, check the end notes for more on that, post-book 5, that's it that's the fic, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27766729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poiby/pseuds/Poiby
Summary: The first thing Hiccup does the morning after his (hopefully last) venture into Lavalout territory is sneaking out of his hut way too early in the morning. He wasn’t trying to hide what he was doing from his father, but Toothless.Or Hiccup and Windwalker take a nice stroll.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Stoick the Vast, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & The Windwalker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Moving Forward, Looking Back

**Author's Note:**

> My election anxiety response was to binge the HTTYD audiobooks for the nostalgia and I had this extremely self-indulgent idea. Definitely not my best work but I'm just trying to write more than a sentence at a time right now. (And it's nice to put some content out there for really small fandoms even if I'm not super into what I wrote.) Get these two some nice things please, oh wait book 8 and counting happened. 
> 
> CW: discussions of slavery, violence, injury and a small serving of canon typical daddy issues. Check the end notes for a more detailed run down.

The first thing Hiccup does the morning after his (hopefully last) venture into Lavalout territory is sneaking out of his hut way too early in the morning. He wasn’t trying to hide what he was doing from his father, but Toothless. As much as Hiccup loved the little dragon he would get in the way of what Hiccup wanted to do and would probably find it dreadfully boring. 

He’d woken up early, Toothless curled into a ball right in the center of the bed and just slightly touching the back of Hiccup’s bent knees. They were both incredibly lucky he slept on his side. He stared up at the bare ceiling of the hut for a long moment, weighing his options. If he left now while Toothless was still asleep the time he spent unsupervised was smaller. But Toothless waking up without someone there to make him breakfast was a disaster waiting to happen. Hiccup braced himself and slipped out from under the covers. He tried not to jostle Toothless too much and smoothed out the covers again to keep the heat trapped. He threw on a few layers and dithered anxiously by the door, watching a small puff of smoke stream through the woven holes in the covers and disperse into the air. 

He quietly padded through the hut and threw a few too many fish from the larder on a plate which he placed on the floor by his bed. He really hoped Toothless wasn’t about to ruin any of the current goodwill between him and his father. Less than a day would be a record.

Hiccup made his way through the Hooligan village, passing a few Vikings out early to tend to their livestock or other responsibilities. Each and every one greeted him with cheering. He let himself glow under the attention and praise just a bit as he climbed down from the raised platform the houses were all built on. It never lasted long but he would enjoy it while it lasted. A brief time where he didn’t have to blend into the background to avoid the dark looks the rest of the tribe gave him as he continued not to have a sudden late bloom. The doubt creeping in, the apprehension for the day where this scrawny boy with no chiefly qualities led them. A carrot looked more intimidating, and nothing good came out of your leader being perceived as weak. Sit Hiccup next to his cousin and the unease only grew. But he was a hero for now and he wouldn’t take it for granted. 

He picked his way through the flatter land in the middle of the island which one would call a moor if it wasn’t shot through with half-hidden streams waiting to trick you into thinking they were solid ground. He managed not to lose a sandal even with his mind so occupied on what he wanted to say. 

Normally the sound of dragons came before seeing the stables but they were only just waking up. So he caught sight of the cluster of buildings before he started to hear the sound of the riding dragons talking (and insulting) each other along with stretching their wings. He watched a full-grown March Tiger flap off towards the woodland the stables stood on the edge of. They were most likely trying to snatch some extra food before breakfast was served. 

Nobber Nobrains along with some other stable hands were getting ready for a new day, still a bit tired from the sudden departure and return of Stoick’s war party and their dragons. They didn’t notice him climbing up the latter by the Juvenile dragon stable as they hauled full buckets out of the well. 

The Vikings had tried to prevent pecking orders from springing up by grouping dragons with their equals within their age group. This seemed to not be very effective but at least made Hiccup's job easier. The last pen tucked away in one of the smaller barn-like buildings was the home of the smallest and scrawniest dragons. The Windwalker was crouched miserably in the corner, watching the few other scraggly creatures still asleep. 

“Windwalker,” Hiccup whispered, half leaning over the pen fence. The Windwalker jerked in surprise and perked up seeing him. Patting the rope holding the pen gait closed Hiccup asked, “Do you want to come with me on a walk?”

The Windwalker blinked at him, this wasn’t normal Hooligan warrior behaviour. Let alone a Lavalout. Hiccup couldn’t help but add darkly. But after a moment of confusion, the Windwalker limped closer to the front of the pen, shooting a scared look at the snoring form of Fishleg’s Chickenpoxer sprawled on the ground. Hiccup watched in confusion for a moment as Windwalker shifted and stretched out his wings, realising what was going on Hiccup leapt out of the way. The Windwalker half flapped half vaulted over the fence, back legs scrabbling for a moment on the wood. He landed untidily, staggering slightly before getting a handle of himself. He shifted foot to foot, sending a look over his shoulder at Hiccup then peering out towards the trees. Hiccup who had taken the moment to admire his riding dragon’s full wingspan in a situation where he wasn’t trying to outrun lava checked to see if anyone was watching before hurrying after the already moving Windwalker. The dragon’s ansty energy seemed to be rubbing off on him slightly and he didn’t know if he was technically allowed to do this. 

The two slunk away into the woods. Hiccup watched as the Windwalker seemed to stand a little straighter, his tail held out instead of dropping and his head raised. His wings which always seemed to be held tight by his side unfurled slightly. The manacle scars were starting to disappear into the re-growing hair, and his paw had been re-bandaged. His own burned and bandaged heal twinged in sympathy. Hiccup wasn’t sure how Windwalker got that injury. Whether it was his time down in the choking and steaming hot mines or his escape. Had it been the tree the raiding party had found him in? Had he thrashed and twisted wildly trying to get free only to hurt himself more? He had to look away before the deep swelling feeling in his gut squeezed out through his eyes. He really didn’t want to know. 

By the time he looked back, the Windwalker had stopped and was watching him expectantly. Like he knew Hiccup was planning on saying something. 

Hiccup cast around for somewhere to look, but settled on eye contact. He didn’t know what effects a Windwalker’s gaze had on humans but it felt like looking at his feet would take some of the meaning away. 

“You saved my life, back there.”

The Windwalker blinked. 

“Thank you.” He said, pouring his heart into the words. “You went back to that horrible place to help me.” He could feel the white-hot rush of anger and horror and pity he had pushed down while hiking up the volcano come bubbling back up and he bit his lip hard. 

He crouched down and held his arms out tentatively, both an offer and a question. The Windwalker who had been looking at him with an unreadable expression walked forward and into Hiccup’s arms. He draped his neck over his shoulder, head coming to rest pressed against Hiccup’s back. Hiccup leaned into the warm shaggy weight of his riding dragon, threading his hands through his fur. It was surprisingly soft and his mind distantly catalogued that the Windwalker smelled like drinking chocolate. 

“Thank you,” it was just a choked whisper now, but Hiccup knew the Windwalker heard him. “Thank you.” 

He felt something bumpy under his hand and he froze, understanding creeping in. There had been whips in the villages. 

“And I’m so sorry,” He muttered thickly, feeling the tears start to well up. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.” 

Windwalker shifted closer and Hiccup threw his arms around the dragon and held on tight as he let out everything he hadn’t had time to process leaning against the Windwalker wrapped in a blanket on his father’s ship, watching Lavalout Island fade away. 

Eventually, Hiccup pulled away from the embrace. The Windwalker nuzzled his cheek sloppily for a moment and Hiccup laughed weakly, fixed his crooked helmet and whipped his eyes. 

“You don’t like the dragon stables do you?” 

The Windwalker shook his head slowly, drooping a bit. Hiccup stood back up, his knees already sore. 

“I’ll work out something, don’t worry.” His father might let him without too much fuss, that was if Toothless hadn’t already caused a mess. The Windwalker bumped against him gently before bounding off deeper into the woods. He paused a couple of meters away and turned to check if Hiccup was coming. Hiccup’s smile was only a little bit shakily. He cast away any worries about what Toothless might be up to and set off after his dragon. 

It was quiet, but not uncomfortable. Because even without words Hiccup could understand and that was enough. The forest was still wet from the giant storm and the ground was muddy. But Hiccup walked alongside his dragon and let himself relax and just enjoy the here and now, not dwelling on their twisted and complicated past his last adventure had uncovered. Both of them had those gold mines to thank for where they were now. For Hiccup being born and for Windwalker’s limp. They had both sailed away from that Island and though Hiccup fingered the golden bracelet on his arm, the Windwalker would never look back. 

When hiccup had tripped on a root and landed face first in the mud he rolled onto his back to see the concerned face of the Windwalker looking down at him, Hiccup knew he had chosen the right riding dragon. No matter what anyone else said.

**Author's Note:**

> Slavery and violence CW: mention of Hiccup getting burned by lava and Windwalker's bandaged paw. Hiccup theorises how he got his limp which includes a description of Windwalker caught in a tree. Mention of manacle wounds. Hiccup finds whip scars on the Windwalker, though it isn't described in detail. I'd advice to just not read this fic if you want to skip any of that because it's the main focus but it starts at "the two slunk away into the woods" and ends at "When hiccup had tripped". 
> 
> Daddy issues and general Hiccup insecurity CW: Hiccup thinks a bit about how his father and the tribe never stay impressed with him and how they always slip back into being disappointed again. Some negative self talk and Hiccup comparing himself to his cousin. Very standard book stuff but if you want to skip it, it starts at "He quietly padded through the hut" and ends at "He picked his way".


End file.
